Dimension Tension
by CopyKat
Summary: This is a little story i made up with some of my favorite series combining with my twins. They discover one of Forge's old inventions and discover what it can really do.
1. The Troublesome Offer

Dimension Tension  
Any characters, unless otherwise mentioned, I do not claim them. They are from X-men, X-men Evolution, Jackie Chan Adventures, and Star Wars. You should be familiar with them, or you will be totally lost. And I don't care! I claim Erica and Erick to be mine. You better not take them! This takes place in between my first and second story. You gotta read at least the first!  
It was as unexciting day as it could be at the X-mansion. At least, with the blue twins around, anything is possible, as they experience a change of a lifetime. Jaime was being reluctantly taken to some lessons specifically for him, and the rest of the X-men were at school or in the Danger Room with Wolverine.  
"Checkmate!" Erica shouted triumphantly. She put her queen in front of Erick's king, trapping it. "Aw, not again!" he protested. He crossed his arms and pouted. She imitated him perfectly. "Hey! Knock it off, will you!" She stuck her tongue out at him. He ignored her and started up his computer. For some reason, it rebooted slower than usual. {Darn! The power's beginning to shut down. I'm going to need another power source.} He snuck a glance at her. Nope, no can do. Last time I took you somewhere, we were nearly fried. I am not going to add another near-death experience to my list.} He tried doing one of her classic puppy eyes on her. {Are you OK? You look sick.} She asked him sweetly. No one could ever imitate her perfectly, and she knew it. {Fine...I'll give you half of my French Fries if you take me there.} She shook her head. {I'm going into Forge's lab. The price is double. One for getting you there, and one for the stuff.} Erick groaned. His sister really knew how to push the limits. {I will give you half of my French Fries and two bagels. Take it or leave it.} Erica was twisting and turning her tail, deciding. {It's a deal!} Two three fingered hands shook to seal the deal. *SHH* "So when did you get to Forge's lab in the mansion?" {Long story. To make it short, I did a blind teleport. Knew you'd want to take a look around. Great for bribes.} Erick sighed. He still hadn't gotten used to her skills as a professional thief. {Hey, look at this...} he held up a strange domed looking sort of ray gun. (Note: the one from Middleverse) {Look, it must have a great power source. He examined it carefully. {Darn. Not what I needed.} He dropped it on it's side, unaware that it was pointed directly towards him and his sister. A strange whirring noise sounded. {What did you do?} She asked. {Uh..} A ball of light enveloped them. {Hold on!} She grabbed him by the arm. The ball of light grew bigger and even more intense as it enveloped the twins in mid-teleport. *SHH* (Somewhere in San Francisco, California, in Uncle's shop) – Jackie Chan Adventures Jade groaned as Uncle prepared another chi spell. "Un-cle! It totally reeks in here!" she whined. To her surprise, Jackie agreed with her. "Uncle, Jade's right. Maybe you sho—" "Jack-ie! Uncle is busy. Do you want to find dark forces? Then I work." Uncle replied. "Shesh, yeah right." She mumbled. "Sinsee, I believe he is not present. Might we bake some cookies instead?" Jade grinned. Sometimes Taru had good ideas. Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared near the ceiling. Two blue thing come crashing down, landing on the floor. "Ugh..." one of them said. "Vhere are ve?" Blinking they stood up. "Aigh-ya! Demons!" Uncle shouted. One of the blue creatures looked around. "Vhere? I don't see any..." the other one punched him in the arm. "Reality check. He's talkin' about uz!" Meanwhile, Uncle began doing a cheese spell. He waved a puffer fish in front of them. Nothing happened. "Tell me zhis isn't happening...." He noticed the occupants in the room for the first time. "Oh...uh, guten tag! So sorry for um...inturrupting." He nudged his sister, and they both turned on their holowatches. "Wow! Are you aliens?" Jade asked, excited. The boy started blushing. "Niene...we're um, I dunno, er..." "Demons! They are demons from the outer portal!" Uncle yelled. The girl shook her head. "Niene, ve are not....demons. By zhe vay, my name's Erica. Zhis is mien bruder, Erick. Ve ran into some sort of....I dunno..." "Portal. Ve are in anuder dimension!" Erick finished. "Huh? What are you talking about?" Jackie asked. "I know! I know!" Jade interrupted. "You have like super-high technology, and you use it to warp to other dimensions. Right?" There was an awkward silence as the twins proceeded to explain themselves. "Sort of...but it vas an accident. I vas trien' to find a power source for mein computer, zhen--" "Wait. You are telling us that you are not from this world?" Taru asked. "You might zay zhat." Erick looked at the floor, trying to sort out the mess that they were in. "Then how do we know that you are not demons?" Erica answered that rather smoothly. "Cuz majick don't work on us. Ve just vant to find our vay home." Jade cocked her head, thinking. "I got it!" She snapped her fingers, then explained. "You came in through a portal, then all we have to do is find other one. This looks like a job for the J-Team!" She stood proudly in front of the twins, who were her size. "Jay-team? I've heard of zhe Ex-man, but zhis? I must've hit my head harder zhen I thought." Erick rubbed his head ruefully. Erica sighed. "Can you help us?" Uncle eyed her warily. "Good magic does not work. Must be good spirits...or maybe strong bad spirits... We need research!" He headed into his library with Taru following. Jackie looked at the new trio and shook his head. "Cummon, you guys! I'll show you my room!" Jade ecstatically pushed the twins in another direction. Once in her room, she closed the door. "So can you do that awesome trick that you did?" "Vhat? You mean zhis?" Erick pushed a button on his holowatch, turning himself back into his blue fuzzy self. Erica moaned and turned hers off. "Awesome! Are you aliens or something?" "Er....nien, frauline. Ve just, uh ...dropped in. Do you think zhat he can find our lost portal?" he replied, twitching nervously. Erica was projecting rather annoying thoughts towards him. He grinned to himself, he finally hit one of her soft spots. Not everyday she got jealous of someone. Jade nodded, smiling. "If anybody can find it, it's Uncle. I'm going to get the rest of the J-team. We're going to need their help." She grinned cheekily at Erick, and walked over to her phone. He blushed until he caught Erica staring at him. She crawled up onto the ceiling and hung on the fan by her tail. He shrugged and pretended to ignore her. Instead, he busied himself at looking around Jade's room.  
When she finally stopped talking on the phone, she turned around on her chair. "They're coming in five minutes. Hey, where's the other one?" "Right here!" Erica responded above her. "Whoa!" Jade looked up took an apprehensive step backwards. He rolled his eyes. "She likes doing zhat to people." She smiled at him. "Uh..it's OK." Without warning, she touched his three-fingered hand. "You're furry!" she blurted out. "So?"  
  
"Sorry, it's kinda weird if ya know what I mean." Erick turned his face down. "Don't worry, I don't mind." A doorbell rang downstairs. The twins hurriedly turned on their watches. "They're here! Wait 'til they meet you!" Jade practically dragged Erick downstairs. Erica, on the other hand, decided to make a more interesting appearance. *SHH*  
Jackie opened the door. "What are you doing here?" "We are here to help find the missing portal, like Yade asked." El Toro replied. Jade and Erick appeared on the scene. "Uh, hi guys! This is Erick. He and his sister are from another dimension. Isn't that cool?" Pablo popped up. "Awesome! But, um..where's your sister?" *SHH* Erica arrived next to Erick. "Hola! Me nombre es Erica." She said. Pablo looked at her in astonishment, as with the rest of the J-team. Erick groaned. Showoff... "Quite an act. I take it they are..spirits?" Viper asked. The twins nodded, hoping to end this never-ending questioning. "I found it!" Uncle yelled. Everybody rushed over to Uncle's library. "Secret writings tell of a special portal. It took it's owners to uncharted areas." He whispered. "So vhere is it?" Erick asked. Uncle glared at him before continuing. "In a place of mystery. Ancient priests guard it against evil for thousands of years. If dark forces reach it, they could destroy many things. We are going to India. We must reach it before Dal-Long-Wong does."  
  
"All right! India!" Jade shouted cheerfully. Jackie did not look as impressed. "I will call Captain Black for a plane." (Somewhere in India) "It should be somewhere over here...." Uncle mumbled, using one of his locator spells. "That's what you said an hour ago!" Jackie protested. "Ah...here it is!" Uncle shouted happily. He pushed away a large green stone. It slid open, leaving a dark passageway of stairs. "Follow these stairs to portal. If you wish to enter, you must say secret password." "But we don't know any passwords!" Jackie complained. "Not us-them!" Uncle pointed at the twins. "So, who's ready for a little exploring?" Viper asked, expertly twirling a flashlight. "You four stay with us, we don't want to get lost." The kids were pushed towards the center of the group as the adults walked down the stairs in single file.  
"It's damp and dark in here..." Erica noted. "Don't be afraid. I'm here for you!" Pablo put his arm around her. When they get down to last step, a huge sapphire showed. "WOW! We could get rich here!" Jade exclaimed. Nobody noticed a small piece of it stuck into one of the stones. Unknowingly, Erica trod upon it. Strange whirring noises were heard. The adults looked around anxiously. Suddenly, the room burst into light. Unaccustomed to the brightness, everybody was temporarily blinded. Blinking tears from their eyes, the group saw one of the biggest treasure troves in history. "Awesome!" "Dude, we could retire for life here!" "Look at the size of these rubies!" The group turned around slowly. Three rather ugly-looking brownish guys with extra-long hair stood (except one), admiring the treasure. (I don't remember their names, please bear with me...) Realizing that they were being watched, they glared at the others. "Go get your own treasure, this is ours." "Treasure is not important! Portal is!" argued Uncle. "No!" "Yes!" "No! "Yes!" One of the men stared hard at the twins. Erick and Erica gulped nervously. "Hey! It's the pip-squeaks that big D ordered us to get. He said we'd get a promotion if we gottem." said the bald one. "Uh-oh..." The twins said simultaneously. Jackie, Viper, and El Toro stepped in front of them. "You want the kids, then you have to get through us. "Spider eats monkey!" (I remember one, i think. Sorry if it's wrong name.) A really big fist came out of nowhere and pulverized a rock. Tiger was back. Uncle shooed the kids behind a solid gold table while the adults went to fight. "Too dangerous. I must find portal." Uncle informed the bewildered children, before going off. "Ve better help!" Erica told her brother. "You can't! The grown-ups said...besides, El Toro is the best." Pablo replied. "No, Jackie is." Jade argued. Pablo shook his head. "They sai--" "Comon! Zhe grown-ups are losing! Ve gotta help." Erica said crisply. Somebody towering over them caused all discussion to end abruptly. "Found ya!" "AHH!" the kids yelled in surprise. Erica grabbed Pedro, and Erick grabbed Jade and teleported. *SHH* *PSHOO* They landed on the blue sapphire in the center of the room. "That rocks!" Jade exclaimed. Pedro nodded eagerly. "Yeah." Suddenly, the twins' holowatches start fritzing again. "Aw, man..." "Vhy does it alvays happen?' they complained. Soon, they are back to their fuzzy blue selves. "Wh-what are you?" Pedro asked nervously. To the twin's relief, Jade produced an adequate answer. "Oh, they're just spirits from another world. That's why the dark chi wizard is after them. They need to get back home before they get into real trouble." Pablo's eyes widened in amazement. "That is so cool!" Erica grinned. "So, vho vants to see us in action?" "Me!" Jade and Pablo called out. Erick rolled his eyes (again). {You take the one with glasses, and I take the one with really long hair. Got it?} ::sigh:: "Ja." *SHH* *PSHOO* "Any clue what they just said?" "Nope. I bet's spirit talk!"  
. *SHH* "Hey, ugly! Betcha can't catch me!" Momentarily distracted, Viper and the one with the really long hair stared at Erica in surprise. She stuck out her tongue. "Nyha, nyha!" "Why you--" He tried to grab her, but she disappeared. A sharp rap to his head made him look up. "Knock, knock! Vho's dere?" *SHH* "Come back here!" he yelled. A whack in the face by a tail stunned him for a few seconds. Viper gave him a face punch in the meantime. "Hey! Dat's not fair!" A sharp-edged boomerang came out of thin air. "Now I'll make two of ya!" He threw it in Erica's direction. She dodged it easily. "Missed." It came back towards her. *SHH* "Missed again!" "Argh! You liddle squirt! I'm gonna get you!" *SHH* "Make me!" Pht! She stuck out her tongue again. He threw his boomerang-sword thing at her again. It headed directly towards her. A few inches from slicing her face to pieces, it froze in mid-air. "Huh? What's happening?" he asked, obviously confused. Erica smirked at his reaction. Shoving her hand forward, it ran right into him. He disappeared in a puff of blue and purple smoke. "All right!" She and Viper exchanged high-fives.  
El Toro was having a bit of trouble with the guy in glasses. Normally, in a wrestling ring, it would be a piece of cake. But this isn't the wrestling ring. The little guy kept on dodging, with the exception of a few face hits. And one of his other buddies was ganging up on him. This is not an honorable way to fight. *PSHOO* Erick landed on the wall above the guy in glasses. His tail reached down and snatched the glasses off his face. "I can't see! I can't see!" His hands grasped the empty air. "Good job, amigo!" El Toro nodded approvingly. "Now we need to--" A hit in the back of the head sent him reeling. "Give those glasses back to my friend!" Erick shook his head. "You gotta git it from me! Neener, neener, neener!" He stuck his tongue out at the bald man. "You asked for it!" He approached Erick menacingly. As if having no clue what is going on, Erick jumped onto the other guy's head. "Get it off! Get it offa me!" he shrieked. The bald guy was coming closer to Erick. Hammer raised, he prepared to squash him with a swift blow. He nearly dropped it on him. Waiting for the last possible second, he teleported. Instead, the hammer hit the bald guy's friend on the head. He disappeared in a puff of smoke also. "Hey! Where'd he go?" A really hard punch sent him to go wherever his friend went. A few minutes later, the fight was over. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief as they met up with Uncle. Pablo and Jade greeted the twins happily. "That was SO COOL!" "Yeah, you kicked those bad guys' butts!" "Here is portal!" Uncle exclaimed. Everybody stared in awe of it's majestic beauty. It looked like a door, but it was round. Made of solid gold, it was covered in rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other precious gems. An exceptionally large sapphire stood in its center. On it were strange inscriptions. "Strange inscriptions..." Uncle commented. "Need more research!" Erick and Erica studied the figures. "Mein Gott...." he breathed. "ve can read it..." she added in astonishment. "So what does it say?" Jackie asked. "Um...says, 'Only Those Here Escape Reality, say zhe passvord, and enter..." "So what's the password?" "Uh, still figuring it out..." "Great. We'll probably be here for a few hours." "I got it!" Erica yelled. "It's an anagram thing!" Silence was heard throughout the room. "What's an anagram?" Jade piped up. "Zhe first letter stand for zhe password. Take zhe O from others, T from those, H from here and so on. Zhe password iz OTHER!" she blurted out. Creaking noises are heard, and the door opens. Bright light streams from it. "THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!" They yelled before being encased in the light. 


	2. Boba's Deal

Somewhere, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....) *PSHOO* *SHH* The twins were astonished at where they landed this time. Outside a docking bay, they admired the beautiful ships that docked there. One in particular caught Erica's eye. {Look! Boba Fett's starship! I can't believe we're in Star Wars!!!! Let me see...} She studied her surroundings carefully. Observing a troop of clone troopers walking by, she made a quick conclusion. {We are in the Clone Wars. Before the Republic crumbled.} Very excited by her change in surroundings, she quickly switched to speaking English, "We could stop it and save the Jedi! We could even meet Boba Fett when he was a kid! We could meet Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi we could--" She was abruptly cut off as Erick clamped her mouth shut. {First of all, we should not change history. No matter what. We could ruin it. That's not how the story goes. Second of all, we need to get home. Not spend an entire lifetime looking for famous people. Here take these. I made it in case we needed backup support.} Erick dug in his backpack for a while. He handed Erica two of what resembled miniature lightsaber hilts, complete with a belt. {What is it?} "Laser knives. Ve can't exactly out punch any droids here. It works just like a normal lightsaber, but smaller. As for me, I got the Force, so I get my own lightsaber." He attached his to his belt. Erica glared at him enviously, and then shrugged her shoulders. Then she dug into her backpack that she brought along, and handed him a cloak. {Here, we might need this.} A growling noise came from their stomachs. {I need food!} Erica rolled her eyes and handed him an Extra Large Nutrients-in- one Bar. {Let's move, I think we caused enough suspicion today. Erick looked behind him and saw a human and a huge Hutt staring at them. {Keep walking and act like nothing happened.} They shuffled towards one of the (hopefully) exits. {How'd you pick this up?} Erick unwrapped the bar and split it in two. {Picked it up in the kitchen this morning. Thought that we might need some brain food.} After eating it, he was still hungry as well as thirsty. {How are we going to eat? We don't have any...} {Credits. Don't worry. Some nice alien would like to feed poor hungry elves. I read some books on what's safe to eat or drink for humans. We better watch our back, though. Those guys back there, they looked like they recognized us from something. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a wanted thing for us.} {You mean, something we did in this demension? But that's not possible. We only arrived a few minutes ago.} {Yes, it's possible. I mean, what about all the other stuff nobody mentions in books? We'd fit right in. Hey, what's this thing in my pocket?} Erica pulled a flat looking disk out. A red button stood out among the blackness of the disk. Erica pushed it, and to their surprise, a small screen popped out. Mission: Rescue young Boba Fett and get him to his ship safely. Beware of other bounty hunters that are searching for him and you. To gain his trust, steal his stolen money from a Bimm named Nuri. Use force if necessary. Caution: He is a changeling. He will lie. Your knowledge is your only hope. Good luck. {So we get to rescue Boba Fett? How are we going to find him if he doesn't even know we exist?} Erick sighed. The only way they were going to get out of this mess is if they were going to complete this mission. {Let's get going!} They put their cloaks on and covered their faces with a hood. To the casual eyes, they resembled lone Jawas, especially with their yellow glowing eyes peeking out. {What's a Bimm, anyway} {Small, yellow, with fur. We'll have to ask around.} Walking around in the huge spaceport, they come across a small diner. Delicious scents wafer out, making the twins hungrier than before. A big crowd started walking past them. By the looks of their clothes, it was obvious that they had quite a bit of money. Dressed in rich silks and expensive jewelry, they were a walking billboard for thieves. Erica grinned with delight. Rubbing her hands together in anticipation, she trundled over to the crowd. Making sure that nobody was looking, she quickly dropped into her shadow form. Moving faster than before, she cautiously dipped her hand in one of the woman's pockets. The woman took no notice of this, she was trying to impress a rather handsome gentleman walking slowly beside her. Bingo! Erica managed yet again to hit the jackpot. Sneakily grabbing a handful of credits, she skipped over to a garbage can and reappeared. Erick suppressed his excitement with great difficulty. Erica turned on her holowatch and motioned Erick to do so before walking into the diner. Twenty minutes later they walked out feeling full and contented. Walking through crowds of all sorts of aliens, most of which Erica could not identify, the twins stared curiously at some of the passerby. {I thought we looked weird.} Erick pointed at a Rodian. Erica nodded sagely. A blur of yellow caught her eye. {Look! It's a Bimm! Let's talk to him.} Trying not to look suspicious, Erica slyly followed it. Ducking and weaving through the crowds, she nearly lost track of it. Finally it stopped near a shadowy corner. It looked like it was waiting for someone. Gingerly, they crept towards it. Still, it didn't leave. Erica materialized next to it in the shadows. "Aigh! You scared me!" As if to prove that, it placed a furry hand where it heart would've been. "Are you zhe vone zhe call Nuri?" Erick appeared across from it. The Bimm looked nervous. 'Umm...yes that is what they call me. How do you know my name? And what is yours?" Erica grinned. She was enjoying this. "That does not matter. Ve vant information." The Bimm was sweating even more. "What kind of information? Everything has a price." Erica grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall. "Ve vant answers, now!" It was trembling in fear. "All right. I get the message. What do you want information about?" Erick smiled. Now we're getting somewhere. "Ve vant to know about...Boba Fett. Do you know him?" The Bimm gulped. "No, sir I do not recognize the name." Erick scowled. "Tell me zhe truth, Nuri. I know who you are, and know vhat you are not. Jedi can see through all lies." He demanded quietly. Nuri was shaking now. There were was no escaping with Jedi around. "I'll tell you the truth. I...borrowed money off of him. It was his fee on Aargau." Erica slapped him in the face. Gently, but hard enough it stung. "Liar. You stole off of him didn't you? You double-crossed him." She said softly. Nuri morphed into his normal Clawdite self. He grew taller than the twins. "You are not clever enough for me. He tried to push Erica off of him, but something pulled him back. "You don't mess with the Jedi. Answer her!" Erick whispered darkly. "Yes. I did that. Now can you let me go?" Erica's face became hard and firm. "Give me zhe money. All five hundred mesarcs. Or else you get a taste of zhis." She powered up one of her laser knives and pressed it close to his neck. The Clawdite was beginning to feel it burning his skin. These guys, whoever they were, weren't joking. "Sorry, I spent it all!" he said cheerfully. "Really?" she asked sweetly. She waved a bag in front of his face and looked inside. "Looks like this would be it. Can't trust him. Can't you do one of your Jedi mind trick on him?" Erick shook his head sadly. "Niene. I can't make people be honest. Zhat's zhe lasso of truth." "Vait, I got a better idea." She shadowed onto the wall and began searching the Clawdite's pockets. "Hey! That's my private stuff!" he whined. "Not anymore!" She half shadowed in and put a small dart into his neck. The Clawdite stiffened, then slumped down into a deep sleep. She finished being complete and wiped her hands onto the cloak. {Never cleaned out his junk. Very stinky and disgusting. Don't grow up to be like him.} Erick smirked at the snoring Clawdite. {Hope he gets to a detention cell. He's a jerk. Let's go find Boba Fett.} The twins grinned again and went off in search of the young Boba Fett.  
In a cantina, not too far from where the twins were having a polite conversation with the Clawdite, Boba had run into serious trouble. Aurra Sing had been searching for him and she was close to it. Clearly her former detention cell did not have the capabilities of restraining her. He quickly ducked under a table as she entered the room. So much for security. Not that was a problem for her. A big alien, some strange type had distracted her for a few seconds. Maybe I could sneak through...To his relief, Aurra left the cantina. For the moment. Now he wouldn't know where she was. He poked his head up over the table, then sat comfortably in a booth he'd been hiding under. What to do? He couldn't go outside, not yet. He didn't know if it was a trap or what. His father would've been disappointed at his son being caught unprepared yet again. Now he was stuck in this miserable place until he could figure a way out of here.  
Two cloaked figures walked slowly into the cantina. Wandering around, they couldn't seem to find a place to sit. Without warning, one of them looked up and saw Boba. Their eyes locked. He couldn't seem to drop his gaze from those yellow eyes. They walked closer and closer. Every cell in his body told him to run, yet he couldn't move. To his astonishment, the figures sat across from him on his booth. "What do you want?" he asked sharply. The eyes blinked in surprise before answering. One of them took off their hood. "Hi!" She, or what looked like a she, grinned a fanged smile. Much to his amazement, he grinned back at her. "Mein name is Erica. Pleased to meet you...Boba Fett." His eyes widened with shock. "How'd you know my name?" he asked. "Ve ran into a friend of yours." She replied. "Friends? I don't have any friends." "Then does zhe name Nuri mean anyfink to you?" "Nuri? You saw him?! That creep! He stole my money!" Erick smiled. This was going as planned. Erica handed out a bag to Boba. "Here, ve paid him a little visit." He opened the bag excitedly. "You actually got it from him? Thank you so much! There it is..five hundred thousand mesarcs. I owe you one. Now all I need to do is get back on my ship..." "But Aurra Sing is outside, vaiting for you. If you go out now, you're womp rat food." Erica finished. "Ve know a vay out. But, zhe catch is, you give us a ride in your ship. Deal?" She held out her hand. Boba thought for a moment. "Wait..how do I know that you're not Nuri? He's a shapeshifter. You could be him." He looked at them anxiously. The last time he trusted somebody, it was a trap. His father said to trust no one, but use everyone. Besides, if they gave him any trouble, he could easily knock them down. They were almost two heads smaller than he was.  
  
"Me, be zhat stinky filth? Not a chance. But.. to prove mein loyalty, I vill show you two fings. Vone here, and vone in zhe ship." *SHH* Erica ended right next to Boba. "Hi!" He jumped. "Whoa! I don't think he can do that....Deal!" A human hand shook the three fingered one. "Let's beat it!" Erica latched herself onto him. *SHH* *PSHOO* The rest of the cantina looked startled at the sudden disappearance of somebody, and the appearance of smoke. *SHH* *PSHOO* "Whoa..." Erica took an unsteady step forwards. Boba stared at her curiously before she answered him. "Itz 'ard to teleport those bigger zhen me. Especially so far." Erick looked around, worried. So far, so good, but it all seemed too easy. A Rodian and a Tw'ilk were running towards them, guns ablaze. The strange trio took off running into Boba's ship. Boba quickly activated the laser cannons, and easily diverted the supposedly bounty hunters' attention. Instead of being the hunters, now they were the hunted. "We are so outta here!" she cheered when the ship finally took off. Putting the ship back in auto pilot, with coordinates to Tatooine, Boba breathed a sigh of relief. "Uh...Thanks guys. So what's the other part of the deal?" "Bet ya didn't know that ve also knew zhat zhe Count has two names, but iz zhe same person." Erica replied coolly. Boba just gawked at her and Erick. "How'd you know...?" She smiled again. "Top secret. Before ve leave, ve vant to give you zhis." She handed him a small crystal in the shape of some bizarre constellation on a crystal chain. "Put it on. It vill give you good luck. Auf wiedersehen!" Her voice echoed slowly as she and Erick disappeared before an astonished Boba Fett. He put the necklace on. And to this day he has survived the impossible, not to mention death a few times, and earned a title greater than his father's. 


	3. Star Wars Part II

In another time and galaxy, far, far away. {Where are we this time?} Erica asked. Erick put out his hand and felt around in the darkness. {Some sort of trunk, genius. What is it with you and trunks, anyway?} {Well. I tried to teleport out of this dimension, but it only ended up going here. I can't help it if we're stuck in some sort of trunk. Fuzz- lip!} he sighed and felt around a little more. {Too bad we don't have that necklace. You must've taken all the good luck out of ourselves to give it to him.} {How do you think he'd survive?} {Beats me...I never finished the books.} Erica sighed discontentedly and tried to feel for a door.  
"I feel a disturbance in the Force." Luke told Han Solo anxiously. "Relax kid. It's probably some sort of incoming asteroid or something." He replied carelessly. "You should listen to him, Han. After all, he is a Jedi Knight." Leia snapped. "There's something alive in where your smuggling cargo goes." She shot Han a supreme look. "See, I told you!" "Fine, fine. Whatever. Luke, does your Force thing tell you what they are? I don't exactly want to release Minocks in my ship." "Uh...I don't recognize the life form, but they're scared. Don't do anything stupid." Han rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's me!" He answered casually, walking over to the covered smuggling cargo pit. He opened it and looked inside. He fell down in surprise at what he saw. Two rather blue looking creatures climbed up and stared at the adults in astonishment. Luke blinked in amazement at how two kids could get inside without being noticed. Leia and Han just stared at the mere fact that these were one of the galaxy's most wanted criminals. Both sides were speechless at the sight of each other. Threepio ruined the moment, bumbling into Luke. "Master Luke? How may I be of assistance?" The yellow eyes of the twins widened as they saw him. {I do not believe it....} {Must be a dream...} Threepio whirled around and looked at the twins for the first time. "That is not a language I am familiar with. You really should update me sometime, master Luke." He said, rather snootily. "You mean, they're talking a language that you don't know? What good are you?" Han asked smugly. Artoo-Deeto ran into the twins and beeped in surprise. Startled, Erica vanished behind Luke and Han. "What the--?" they asked, before she disappeared in a puff of smoke. "So that's how they got rich. I wish I could do that." Han said mournfully, before Leia glared at him. "Beep-do-beep?" Artoo asked. Erick shook his head. "Beep-beep-do-beep-beep!" he replied. Now he was the one receiving arched brows. "Really, Artoo. You should watch your language, and you too, Erick." Erick and Artoo stuck their 'tongues' out at Threepio. "Beep-chi-beeep!" he retorted. If Threepio had facial muscles, his face would look horrified. "Shame on you! What despicable language you have, Erick." "Waitta minute, you understood what he said?" "Unfortunately, yes, sir." "Artoo? Can you ask them if they speak Basic?" "Beep!" Artoo answered cheerfully. "Beep-de-beep-beep-du-beep?" the droid asked Erick. "Vhat's Basic?" Leia smiled. "Uh...it's what most people speak. How in the galaxy can you speak droid?" he grinned. "It's a secret." Erica punched him lightly in the arm "Showoff..." she muttered. "So why are you two wanted as criminals?" The twins stared at Luke in shock. Then Erick faced Erica. "Vhat did you do?" he growled. "umm.." she said nervously, searching for the right answer. Then she pulled her hands from behind her back. "Are these yours?" she asked sweetly. Luke and Han stared at the items in her and. "How'd you—?" "What did you--?" "Shut up and let the kid talk." The men were silent at this proposal. "I uh, have...umm...sticky fingers." She blurted out. Luke looked at his lightsaber that had been missing for a few minutes. Some Jedi he was, not knowing if it had been stolen. Han stroked the handle of his gun lovingly. He should know better than to let some little kid steal it from under his nose. A violent shaking from the shipped ended the conversation. Chewbacca howled to Han. "I'm coming, I coming! Hold on!" He managed to get to the cockpit before the ship gave another violent shudder. Luke and Leia scrambled after him. A familiar ship shot by. "Why the— Leia covered his mouth. "Shh! We have children on the ship!" Han gave her a strange look, before continuing. "Boba Fett is hot on our tails. He knocked out the sublight engine and...is going to give us a shot with his wonderful ion cannon. We have precisely three seconds before he neutralizes us. Any suggestions?" Chewbacca growled a series of barks and howls at him. "Sorry, furball. It looks like our time is just about up. Static crackled on the com. "Solo...I desire to see your presence again. Put down your weapons, all of you. One false move, and your ship is gone." Han stared at the controls for a few seconds. "This is not happening..." A clang from above ended his statement. He walked out into the corridor and waited. He did not have to wait for long. Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca stood behind him. The twins looked at the ceiling as it opened. They gasped in astonishment as they saw who entered. Boba Fett strode in, feeling confident. He knew better than to trust Solo. A small movement caught his eye. "Boba?" Erica asked. He turned around and stared at them. "You." he replied in his deadpan manner. "Man, you have changed a lot since ve met." She pointed out. "You have not changed at all." She grinned. "Remember vhen ve left...vell ve traveled forvard in time. Very confusing." The rest of the adults gawked in amazement and bewilderment at this conversation. "Besides, you owe us." She informed him. "What do you want?" "You to leave this ship, to stop hunting mistah Solo here, and tae at least say goodbye vhen ve leave." Boba was silent for a moment. He put out his hand towards Erica. "Deal?" She shook his had warmly "Deal." Without warning, a blue mist started swirling around them. "Goodbye...Auf wiedersehen." He murmured. The last thing he saw of the twins was them waving. 


	4. Reality in Old Marvel

(Really special note. This is in the Marvel universe.) {Oof! I have got to work on my landings.} Erica groaned. Erick slid off of her and helped her up. {Where are we?} She looked around. {Some sort of marketplace. Reminds me back at home. We better get hiding.} A huge mob was parading through the town. Several of them were holding up signs. "Down with mutants! We are the rulers of the universe! Out with the gene-freaks!" they chanted. {Of all the places we had to land, it had to be here!} Erick complained. "Look! It's one of them muties!" an elderly man pointed at the twins. "Gettem!" Others cried. {I wish we were back home! Hold on!} Erick grabbed his sister's arm. *PSHOO* they disappeared before the mob could get them.  
{Nice place!} Erica commented. The chair they landed in was very comfortable. A very, very well-known voice called out. "X-men to Cerebro. We have two unidentified mutants in the mansion. Try to find them as soon as possible." {Nuts! Now they think we're the enemy! Split up and meet back here. If not, try to make it in that vent over there.} Erica yelled, running in to another room, while Erick sprinted into another.  
*SNIKT* Erica turned in dismay at that sound. Wolverine was charging towards her, claws raised. "YIKES!" she shrieked. *SHH* *SHH* "Ugh!" as if luck was against her, she landed underneath his face. Wolverine stared at her in surprise before being kicked in the face by her flailing feet. He backed off of her for a few seconds. That was all she needed, and she dashed off.  
Running blindly, Erick ran straight into the Adult Nightcrawler. They wrestled together and became a jumble of fur and tail. "Leggo!" he protested. "Not on your life!" he argued. Erick struggled to get free of this madness. He went limp and Nightcrawler lost his grip on him. Erick slithered away and, much to Nightcrawler's astonishment, he teleported. *SHH* *PSHOO*  
The twins met in the kitchen. Sliding on the slippery tile, their momentum carried them forwards. "EEK!" Erica screamed and pointed ahead. A laser blast narrowly missed Erick. He looked up and saw Cyclops firing away at them. Unfortunately, they were heading straight towards him. Using their hands and feet, they dodged most of the laser beams. One nicked Erica in the tail and the other hit Erick on the hand. Legs far apart, Cyclops labored to get a lock on the elusive twins. Much to his surprise and to the twin's amusement, they shot under his legs. As he turned around to blast them, they teleported to escape this freaky guy.  
The Dazzler was running down the corridor, looking for the unknown mutants. Where could they be? Something crashed into her, providing her answer. Before she could react, they disappeared again.  
They ended in some empty room. Panting hard from their experiences from the X-men they paused to catch their breath. {Everybody's older. Cyclops is a grown-up. There are some really strange people there we had never seen before.} Erica gasped. Erick nodded. {There was this guy I ran into. Didn't look at him too closely, but I swear he reminded me of Kurt.} {Wouldn't be shocked. This is another dimension, fuzzy!} Loud, I mean, EXTREMELY LOUD footsteps thumped close by. She gulped nervously. {I don't like the sound of that. Let's go to the vent!} *SHH* *PSHOO* They vanished a second before Colossus crashed in. He stared suspiciously at the smoke that lingered in the air. He clomped back to find the others.  
{We're here!} Erica exclaimed triumphantly. Erick groaned and started trying to open the vent. Erica helped him, and by the time they managed to pry it open, several members of the X-men had arrived. They dashed quickly inside. "How are we suppose to get them now?" Wolverine asked. "Hey, elf. Do you think you can fit in the vents?" Nightcrawler shook his head dejectedly. "The vents are too small for me." "Maybe I can nail 'em with my laser blasts. Everybody, stand back. This could get messy." Dazzler groaned. What is this with men and exploding stuff? Storm came flying in. "I can probably get them out." She said serenely. "What are you talking about?" Cyclops asked. "I can use my wind powers to force them out. Be ready to catch them." Rumbling outside could be heard as the wind picked up and forced its way into the vents.  
It had gotten harder and harder to stay in the vents. The twins tried to walk against the wind, but it was too powerful for them. Erick could already feel himself loosing his grip. Erica was having an even harder time. Being lighter than he was, the wind buffeted her mercilessly. "Ach. I can't hold on!" As if to prove that, the wind blew her off the vent and down the chute they climbed up. Against his instincts, he let go.  
Two very small figures shot out of the vent like a cannon at Colossus and Nightcrawler. The impact knocked Nightcrawler off his feet, but Colossus remained immobile. The metal giant grasped Erica tightly with his huge hand. Nightcrawler was having some difficulties trying to pin Erick. After several unsuccessful attempts, he managed to do so. He stared in shock at Erick, and Erick did the same. "You look like my kid brother or something!" Nightcrawler exclaimed. Erick blinked. {What happened to your hair?} He ran his hand through his thick curly hair. {Nothing. What are you talking about?} Erick started to answer, but was interrupted by Erica. {Let go!} She protested at Colossus. She was so small, that all he needed to do was hold her with one hand. "Who could think that someone so small could cause so much trouble?" he remarked with a Russian accent. Erica tried to teleport away, but he was so much bigger than she was, nothing happened. "I'll let go if you promise not to run away." He said sternly. Erica nodded in her agreement. He lightly placed the diminutive elf on the ground. She glared at Erick, then shifted her gaze to Nightcrawler. Her eyes widened in astonishment. Wolverine rolled his eyes. Just what we need, two kids. Nightcrawler stared at her in amazement. {Who are you?} {The question is, who are you?} Erick settled the questions by answering himself. {This is Erica, my twin sister. My name is Erick.} His yellow eyes glowed with sincerity. "Nightcrawler, you can let him up." Erica gawked at the approaching figure of Professor X entering the room. "I suppose you could explain why you are here." He said. Erica then teleported on Colossus's shoulders to get a better view. "Umm..." she started. She fidgeted while trying to think of a possible explanation, if that was at all possible. "We're waitin'...." Wolverine said. Her tail twisted with anxiety as she tried to discuss about their interesting adventures. "Uh, you von't believe zhis but..." "Ve're from anuder dimension!" Erick finished. The room was silent. "Ve are! Really! ::Sigh:: {See what happens when you try to talk to adults? They never listen.}" Erica whined. {Hey!} Nightcrawler called out indignantly. {We're not all that bad!} "Sez you!" Erick 'ported onto his shoulders. {Another thing. I am going to go crazy if I change form in another dimension!} She complained. "Mind keepin' it in English?" "I say zhat it iz annoyin' to change size in different dimensions." "You serious about this dimension thing?" "uh-Ja! It's not like ve'd fit in here..." she looked at Nightcrawler. "Never mind." "So, what dimension are you from?" Erica glanced at Erick. She was too busy admiring her reflection off of Colossus to answer."Zhey have names?" he asked. "This is not getting anywhere!" Wolverine rudely interrupted. Prof. X glared at him before continuing on. "What is your dimension like?" Erick breathed a sigh of relief. Now they were getting somewhere....I hope. "It's like here, 'cept almost everybody is a teenager. Mistah Colossus ofer here vorked vif Magneto vhere ve vere. Umm, Missus Storm vas a teacher at zhe institute, zhe sparkly lady vas not zhere, not yet....Kurt and Scott vere teenagers, 'cept Kurt had straight hair, and vell, Scott didn't change nope, niene, nada. Still same ol' borin' leader." "Hey!" he shouted. Erick ducked behind Nightcrawler's head. Erica snickered and continued. "Mistah Logan, or Volverine, vhatever, he vasn't any different. Alvays vants to slice and dice, vhat a scary personality." "Why you--" he grumbled. His claws popped out to express his anger. A loud beep from Cerebro broke the discussion. "It seems a mutant was discovered. X-men, leave at once." Kurt and Colossus put down the twins and rushed towards the X-Jet. "The X-men are so predictable." Magneto replied to Juggernaut. "Time to visit your dear brother. He seems to have gotten a little gift for us. It is time to pick it up." They disappear into the shadows.  
Prof. X smiled kindly at the bewildered twins. "Come now. I want you to see Cerebro." He wheeled over to a room. Erick and Erica take alternate turns teleporting after him. They enter a room full of machinery. "Wow!" Erick exclaimed. Erica nodded in agreement. This was definitely better than the one back home. Prof. X looked at the screens, satisfied that his X-men could do the job. "Warning!" Cerebro's alarms went crazy. The professor gasped as he saw Magneto and Juggernaut plowing through the automated defenses. "He's after Cerebro.." he murmured. Erick prodded him in the arm. "Niene. He vants us...Ve didn't tell all of zhe truf. Ve have power he vants." Xavier looked at him in surprise. "You be best off running away from him. He manipulates metal, you know." BAM! CRASH! "Too late!" Erica squeaked. Juggernaut came blasting through. "Aren't you going to welcome me home, Charles?" he asked. He easily pushed aside the terrified twins and set out to harass his stepbrother. The twins dashed across the room, looking for an escape. Magneto stopped directly in their path. "I have been waiting for this..." Metal poles and debris from the wall surround them. The twins grabbed each other in fear. {I want to get out of here!} Erick yelled. *PSHOO* 


	5. The Real Deal in X2

(I got this idea from Nightcrawler's prequel to X-men 2. It is really touching.) *PSHOO* Thump! Erick landed in the bushes, with his sister landing on top of him. {What did you do to your hair?} Erica asked. "Huh?" He ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes widened as he felt his new crop of hair. It was very bushy and hadn't been combed yet. Bits of twigs stuck into it. It nearly covered his glowing yellow eyes as he tried to flatten it down. "Hehehehe! Look at you!" she giggled. He faced her and started guffawing loudly. "Hehehehehe! You have wild hair too!" she self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair. She gasped at what she felt, and got more laughter from Erick. Hers was longer than it usually was and some strands of hair kept on getting in her face. She had a couple of leaves in her just as thick hair. She giggled as she pulled out some of the leaves.  
"Mister Stryker! Mister Stryker!" an uniformed man called out urgently. "Yes? What is it? We have already loaded the mutant into the car. What do you want?" Stryker grumbled. "Uh, sir, we found two more. And they are not mind-controlled." Stryker stared at him. "Get the tranquilizers out before they escape. I am certain they will fit in perfectly." The uniformed man ran quickly to the other men. Finally picking out all the leaves and twigs in their hair and fur, they stood up and dusted themselves. {This place gives me the creeps.} Erica shivered, and grabbed Erick by the shoulder. He giggled nervously. {I thought you weren't afraid of anything.} {I'm only acting this way so you'll feel brave.} {Right.} They start walking out of the bushes and into a small open area. Erica breathed a sigh of relief. Everything looked so peaceful and quiet. Rustling in the shrubbery they had left was heard. {Who's there?} Erick whispered. Two tranquilizer needles shot out and hit the unsuspecting twins in the neck. They slumped down, unconscious.  
"That was easy." One of the men remarked. "Suddap and put these bags and collars over their heads. Mister Stryker wouldn't like it if two of his precious mutie freaks got away." A man carrying the bags and collars stared at the twins. "Ya know, they look a lot like the one we caught earlier." He observed. "So?" another asked. This one buckled on the collars. For extra security, he put duct tape over their mouths before putting the head bags. "How are we gonna get them over there? I don't wanna touch them. What if they're contagious?" Somebody snorted. "that's why we bring the big bag." He handed the one that complained a huge burlap sack. Some of the other men used their guns as sticks and pushed the twins into the bag. He tied the bag shut and slung it over his shoulders.  
Kurt massaged his aching face. That man could sure whack a stick hard. He sat moodily against the wall on his 'bed'. With the monitors on, it would be impossible to pray again without getting beat up. Oh, Lord. Please take pity on your humble servant.... The door slammed open. Kurt jerked out of his daydream and looked curiously at them. One of the men walked in and grabbed him by the shoulders. He hauled Kurt upright and placed a baton across his neck. Stryker and another man carrying a burlap sack strode in. "What's going on?" Kurt demanded. Stryker took no notice of him, but the man holding him answered. "Interrogation. Shut up." So much for manners. He decided to watch. It's not like he could do anything else. Stryker closed the door and nodded at the man. He opened up the sack and dumped its occupants out. The small mutants landed with a sickening thud. "Ugh..."one of them moaned. The man facing Stryker, Norris, shifted nervously. "Take the bags off their heads." Stryker ordered. "Sir? They tried to escape—so we got a little rough with them." Norris replied. "How rough?" Norris didn't answer. "Take the bags off. Now!" Seeing Stryker looking upset, he hurriedly snatched the bags off. Kurt gasped at the sight. Their faces were bloody. There were many cuts on their faces. What were kids doing here? He looked at them a little harder. His heart almost stopped as he saw that they resembled everything of him. They looked like little miniatures of him. Stryker's voice cut through his thoughts.  
"Well, now what do we have here?" he asked. He ripped the duct tape off of their faces. They moaned in pain and remained silent. "So far, Erick and Erica, we know much of your past. What we really want to know are your powers. Care to explain?" Erica had been fuming. Now she wanted to leave. She tried to teleport, but a thousand volts surged through her instead. She screamed aloud in pain. "I have these collars specially designed for you. After all, you are the most powerful mutants to walk the earth. Tell me what interesting mutant powers you possess." The twins stubbornly didn't answer. "I suppose that we could do a bit of humiliation. It works like a charm. If you don't tell me, you will suffer the consequences." Kurt's voice interrupted the conversation. "Leave them alone! They're just kids!" The man holding him pressed the baton closer against his windpipe. "Shuddap!" Stryker returned his gaze to the unfortunate twins. "Let's start at the beginning. Informers have it that you were thrown off a cliff by your own mother. I'm not surprised. After all, who could love such monsters." The twins winced. Hearing their own history from this man was not pleasant. "You were put into a circus for years." {Not circus. Freak show.} Erick sullenly replied. "What did he say?" Stryker asked Kurt. "Freak show, not a circus." He gasped the words out. "Anyway, you were raised there. Bad influence changed your lives. You, Erica, are wanted for stolen goods. And Erick, I am ashamed...you are wanted for computer hacking. Shall I go on?" Tears trickle down their faces as this man read out loud their crimes from the past. They refused to answer. "You ran away, hoping you could escape justice. Many people died because of that. They were tortured until given answers. Some of them were your friends. What were their names? Oh, yes...Maiko, Sunny, and I can't forget the Seer." More tears flowed freely. The Seer raised them when they were younger. "Yes, the Seer was killed. She resisted giving out information about your whereabouts." "Niene!" Erica blurted out. Stryker grinned fiendishly. He had finally hit a soft spot. "Yes. We did kill her. But, she was a mutant. Nobody cares about them. Your owner has wanted you back. You made huge profits for him. You could go back." The twins were visibly frightened. {Please don't take us there! Please don't leave us with that horrible man!} Erick cried out. Kurt hastily translated for them. "They don't want you to take them back." Stryker smiled again. "I won't take you back...unless you tell me your powers." They stopped crying and stared at him. "What are your abilities?" he gritted his teeth. {I have super agility, teleport, and have mental powers.} Kurt translated again for Stryker. Erica glared at him for a few seconds before answering in another language. ~I can teleport, have super agility, and I turn into shadows.~ Kurt's face went blank as he heard this new language. "What did it say?" Stryker asked impatiently. "I---I don't know...whatever language it was." He said. Stryker muttered something completely unprintable and glared at her. She grinned and stuck her tongue at him. She received a whack on the side with an electric baton that Norris was holding. Erica screamed again in pain. She stared defiantly at Stryker. "I turn into shadows." She mumbled in perfect English. "What other mutant ablities do you posses?" her tail twitched in agitation before she answered. "Teleport. Agility." "Your previous owner mentioned that you had a very special power. What was it?" "Just don't make us mad." Erick replied. They returned to their stubborn silence. "I will ask you again tomorrow. And I won't take no for an answer." He made some hand motions towards the soldiers. They dropped Kurt and walked out. Norris took advantage of Stryker's back and whacked each of the twins in the side with his electric baton before striding out. The door shut behind them.  
The twins curled up and sniffles could be heard. Kurt gazed at them sadly. They shouldn't be here in such a terrible place. He sat next to Erick, and patted him on the back. "You two will be all right. I'm here. I'm right here." Erick looked up and sniffed. "Really?" Kurt nodded. He felt the other rub against him. He looked at Erica in amazement and stroked her fur. "Wow. You have fur too? You're awfully soft." She squatted and held her tail in her hands. {Did you ever have a family?} Kurt was startled at the question. {Maybe.} She shot him a look. {Ja.} {Where?} {I was raised in a circus. I was...adopted.} Erick sniffed louder. {At least someone loved you.} He started sobbing into his hands. Kurt slightly hugged him. He ran a finger down Erick's bare back. Bumps amid the soft fur showed scars. {What's this?} Erica answered this time. {When we didn't do something, or we were bad, or something went wrong, we were whipped.} She snuggled next to him. The day's events seemed to exhaust him and the twins. Kurt started dozing off. {Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found...} Erica sung sleepily. A smile of contentment was left on their faces until morning.  
"Rise and shine!" Stryker called out cheerfully. The twins frowned at him. They had hauled Kurt away from them. There was now the problem of getting them to behave. Kurt looked at the duo. He'd swear that a smile passed between them. God, please don't let them do anything stupid, he prayed. Norris was the only man that was going to have the privilege of getting the twins out of the prison cell to who knows where. He swung out his baton, ready to use if necessary. Erick and Erica froze, eyeing the baton. "Get the bag on your heads, and we'll make it easy." He replied. The twins gave him an evil stare then backed up into the wall as Norris approached them. "You can't go anywhere, can you?" Much to his surprise, they ignored his threat. Instead, they clamored up the wall, safely out of reach. Kurt bit his tongue to keep from shouting encouragement and amazement. Stryker glared at them, and said something on his radio. Sounds of loud footsteps were heard marching down the corridor. Kurt glanced at the twins nervously. They were in serious trouble, and there was nothing he could do about it. The doors opened again and three heavily armed men walked inside the cramped cell. They aimed their guns at the twins. Kurt braced himself for the worst. Oh, Lord...please don't let them be killed. Two shots rang out. Kurt closed his eyes in prayer. "Aww, man! You missed!" somebody complained. He opened one eye. They were still on the ceiling, grinning like drunken sailors. Two more shouts rang out. Erick cringed in pain as one of them hit his tail. Suddenly, he lost his grip and fell. He screeched in agony as he desperately tried to teleport back up. A soldier neatly caught him in a burlap sack. "Paralyzing potions. Very effective against mutants." Stryker remarked. Erica scowled and prepared to dodge the next attack. This time three shots rang out. Two missed and the other pinned her shirt to the ceiling. She tried to pull herself free as three more came flying in her direction. Not wanting show her still active powers yet, she effortlessly sidestepped the first two, but missed the third one. It hit her right in the stomach. Her face was a mask of pain as she dropped down into the sack. Kurt could hardly believe they were doing this to such young kids. The man that had been holding him, shoved him to the floor as he followed the others.  
Meanwhile, the soldiers forced the twins onto a sort of operating table. They attached chains to their wrists and ankles. Face down, their faces were shoved through a hole. Still unable to resist the paralyzing potion, they were frozen in strange and awkward positions. Stryker injected a needle in the back of their necks. "I want you to tell me your powers." He didn't notice a small fragment of electricity playing around their unprotected neck. Suddenly, the stiffened limbs were loose and moving. And cries of anguish were once again heard. He stared at the twins in surprise as Erica's tail knocked the vial from his hands. She wiggled furiously to get loose from her already too big chains. Erick had already freed his hand and a leg. "Security!" Stryker called out. Six men appeared in the room. Several of them were astonished that they were moving. "I thought the potion worked!" One of them yelled. Stryker ignored him. Satisfied that their attention was diverted, Erica distracted them even more when she jumped up and tackled him. Finally tugging the rest of himself free, Erick joined the fight.  
Kurt had been pacing around the cell, waiting for the twins to return. Screams and yells were heard, as well as gun firing and loud crashes. He winced. Somebody was tearing the place down and he'd bet that it was them. They had a lot of nerve standing up to Stryker. Hopefully they wouldn't be hurt too severely...  
The door opened again. The guards shoved in the twins with the tips of their guns, and slammed the door shut. They fell down in exhaustion. Kurt carefully picked each one up and placed them on the hard metal bed. He tried to keep calm when he saw their bloody bodies. Erica's shirt had almost been torn into two pieces and was bleeding badly. She had obviously fought back the most. Erick wasn't that bad, except one long cut was raked across his back. Why would anyone do this to them? What could they possibly want with two children? Erica groaned, disturbing his thoughts. She tried to sit up, but fell down in pain. {Don't worry. I'll get you out of here as soon as I can.} Kurt promised to the beaten twins. Erick tried to smile, then his face contorted with agony. {Kurt.....} Erica whispered. He turned towards her. {I'm here.} {Do you....think that....God...punished us.... for being..... bad?} she wheezed. He stroked her blood soaked hair. {God loves you. He may test you, but he still loves you.} She grinned halfheartedly. {He will stamp out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. His truth is marching on....} She softly sang before her and her brother fell into a deep sleep. Kurt slumbered off next to them. "Disgusting. Keep in mind that you're not seeing this." Stryker commented, looking at the sleeping trio. Kurt unconsciously curled his whole body around them, as if trying to protect them from the unfriendly world. Two soldiers seized the twins by their collars, abruptly ending their snooze. Another two dragged Kurt up. {Help!} they gasped. Being held by their collars limited their breathing. He fought madly to reach them. Several intense beatings on the head ended his struggle. "You're being shipped out, Wagner." One of them said casually and pulled him out of the cell. The twins were dropped roughly to the ground, before the others left. {We got to get out of here!} Erick said. {Here, I think I can disable the collar. Just give it some extra juice, and it'll overload and shut down. On the count of three. One...} {Three!} Blue sparks surround their collars and a small clink could be heard as it shut down. {You give the distraction and blow the place up. I need to save all my energy for the trip.} Erica replied. He nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. Blue light forms in each palm as he faces the door. More electricity crackled in the air as fire and ice rammed into the door, blowing it completely off. "Security breach!" A metallic voice called out. Erica and Erick grin at the mess they made. {Ready to shadow?} {Now or never!} Erica grasped Erick's hand tightly and began shadowing. They disappeared into the floor and become twin shadows. They quickly ran off in the direction the soldiers had taken Kurt.  
Meanwhile, Stryker had already injected the vial into Kurt, and was showing him where to meet the president. Erica carefully guided them onto Kurt's shadow. Erick had dashed off to grab something and came back. Hopefully this scheme should work. She tensed as she felt him prepare to teleport. Grabbing on to Kurt's shadow's back, she prayed that it would work. *BAMF* Several teleports later in front of the White House, an exhausted Erica slid off of Kurt's shadow. He took no notice of them. Seeing that they were about to be in trouble with themselves, Erick handed out the holowatches to his sister. They hastily turned them on. Cheerful that it worked, they followed behind him. A black security guard smiled at them as they passed through. {We need to find a hiding spot. Kurt is not his normal self.} Erick whispered to his sister. She nodded in agreement. Pretending to admire a picture of Lincoln a lady was explaining about, Erica poked her brother and pointed at a vent overhead. {Do you think you can do it? That trip took a lot of energy out of you.} Ignoring her concerned brother, she dragged him behind a huge leafy fern. Taking a deep breath, she summoned the last bits of energy she could muster. Holding Erick's hand, and disregarding his protests, she closed her eyes and shadowed. It took a little longer than usual to do it, but she managed all the same. Nobody noticed two small black dots floating on the ceiling and into a vent.  
The moment they safely get into the vent, Erica immeaditly returns to normal. She collapsed, making strange muffled noises to those down below. They pricked up their ears at sound of fighting and gunshots. An odd *BAMF* could be heard in the midst of things. Erick groaned. Kurt was being mind controlled to do something bad. The humans are not going to like this.... Erica had drifted off to sleep during the battle. Erick glanced at her and sighed. She could sleep anywhere, any time she wanted to, even if it was during a torture. He snorted at a long distant memory when that occasion happened. He tried to doze off, too. Anyone who was standing directly under the vent would have been puzzled at hearing soft snoring.  
Awhile later, he was woken up by constant shaking. {Wake up furbrain!} Erica whispered. "Huh?" "Shh! We have to get out of here. This way is blocked. I can't teleport yet...You only disabled the shock, weirdo. I can't even seem to shadow it off of me. I think it's been glued on.}" His eyes widened at this new testimony. She started crawling down the tunnel, peering down every so often. "Niene." She would say if it were blocked by security. Suddenly the vents seemed to look a lot older. Some parts of it would creak. Following her nervously, Erick held onto her tail for reassurance. She glared at him once or twice then gave up. Both of them failed to notice an ancient vent they were about to step on....  
The President was certainty looking anxious today. Only ten hours ago he had almost been murdered. Thanks to one of his fellow men, he was alive and breathing. Being surrounded by six Secret Service agents all the time since the incident had not improved his mood. The media was coming into today to publicize the incident. He sighed tiredly and ran his fingers through his graying hair. Right now he was walking over to meet them. At least they had been forbidden to follow him around. Creaks from nowhere were heard in the deathly silent group. One of the black soldiers looked around for the source of the sound. Guns were raised into attack position. They halted cautiously to survey the area. In the center of the group, he looked around to see if there were any more nonexistent enemies today. He reluctantly stopped under an old vent. A crash was heard and he fell down on the floor. Frantically trying to push the intruders off of him, he accidentally slapped someone. His skin went cold has he stared at who knocked him down. Two small blue things resembling his murderer perfectly were dodging the bullets not too far from him. Taken completely by surprise, by the sudden turn of events, the twins quickly tried to escape. Running away was not as easy as they expected. Since their gift of instant teleportation had been prevented, it was painfully obvious who would win. A man made the mistake of grabbing Erick by the tail and felt over a thousand volts run through him. Being small, they had the advantage of squeezing into all sorts of places, not to mention under someone's leg. Lack of food, water, blood, and proper nutrients took their toll on the children. Despite their greatest efforts, they were overwhelmed by the adults, and fainted in fatigue. The twins woke up in a new environment yet again. Opening their eyes, they observed that they were in some sort of concrete room. Even the beds were made of it. They jumped at the noise of the door opening. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Two powerful mutants that ruined my lab and made the headlines at the same time." An irritating familiar voice sounded. Erica glared at the man that had caused them so much suffering. "You!" He grinned at her reaction. "We tried every remedy available, but it seems that you are too strong for your own good. Pity you never listened to me while you had the chance. I will make your end swift and painless or long and agonizing. You can choose whichever once we return back to my refurbished lab. Hope you enjoy the trip." Stryker said smugly as he walked outside. The door closed and instantly knockout gas started pouring in. The twins blinked in surprise at these then held hands. Just before it started to really pour in, they hold their breaths and vanish into the cement. Popping up on the other side, they greedily inhaled the sweet fresh air. Recovering from that new experience from another thing to do in shadow form, Erica inspected their surroundings. A single platform, connected to a narrow catwalk was their only way out of this mess. Erick had been fiddling around with his collar for quite some time. Another small clink rewarded his efforts *PSHOO* He teleported next to Erica. {I figured it out! I'll show you!} A uniformed man interrupted their rescue. "Hey! You shouldn't be here! Secur--" His voice was cut off as Erick teleported over and punched him in the face. For an extra measure, he kicked the walkie-talkie the man had dropped off the sidewalk. Another swift hard punch rendered him unconscious. Erick 'ported back to his dumbfounded sister and took her to the entrance to the tunnel leading the way to freedom. Sneaking quietly, they sped past a room. Erick stopped suddenly as he saw his beloved laptop being typed on.{We have to get it!} he whispered furiously to Erica. {Hurry then!} *PSHOO* *PSHOO* In the space of three seconds, he managed to secure his custom- made laptop and backpack. Ignoring the cries of astonishment, he *PSHOO*ed back to Erica and nearly landed on her. Placing it in his backpack, they dashed off. Or, they would have, if they hadn't run into a really mean soldier nicknamed Viper. Crashing into this dude was definitely not a good idea. Known for cruelty when someone made him see red, he lashed out with his knife. He was rewarded with a loud scream in pain. Erica fell down in agony as the knife ripped its way through her. Screaming, she released a huge blast of blue fire at him. Footsteps were heard in the corridors. Gasping for air, she leaned on Erick for support. Getting to the point of being scared beyond rational thought, he squeezed his eyes shut and teleported. He opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that they were in some kind of airplane hanger. He spared a nervous glance at Erica. She sagged limply beside him. God, please don't let her die...not yet. I need her! Erick thought. Examining the previously abandoned area, he got a daring idea. *PSHOO* He sat his sister comfortably in the seat of the Stealth Bomber. Sitting in front of her, he gulped anxiously and hoped this was a good idea. He buckled themselves in and placed helmets on. Staring at the controls, he desperately tried to remember what to do with them. Oh, well...here goes nothing. Voices were heard in the hanger. Pushing buttons, he managed to launch the plane into the sky. "YAHOO!" he whooped with delight as they flew. Even Erica smiled at their new escape trip. A crackle on the radio dashes their hopes. "Repeat. Descend immediately or face the consequences. He ignored it and did a direct spiral downwards. {Hold on! If they think we're dead, then we're free!} He yelled over the turbulence. {If we survive this!} she hollered back. She grabbed his shoulders as the plane shook them unmercifully. Another crackle on the radio calls out. "You're too far! Move it!" At this, Erick forces the Stealth Bomber even further down. Visual maps showed them that they were going to crash into a long abandoned harbor. Making sure that it wasn't loaded, which it wasn't, for that was the reason why it was in the hanger in the first place, he let go of the controls. Less then a mile from destruction, he closed his eyes in prayer. {Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women..} *PSHOO* {And blessed be the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.} He breathed a sigh of relief and watched his handiwork. Crashing into the rocks at full speed made the fireworks at Fourth of July look like fireflies. A moan from Erica distracted him from the show. Thank God it was night, so they wouldn't be noticed as easily. He cursed himself for not grabbing the holowatches when he had the chance. First, things first, they needed shelter and fast. Erick glanced anxiously at the sky. At least the dreaded officials left...for now. He doubted that Stryker would buy that story. He shouldered Erica onto his back and started walking in the alleyways. More than once he had to feel her with his hands to make sure that she was still there. All the blood she lost made her so light, that even he could carry her. Not like she was heavy, but it is hard to lift someone your own size. Several times he almost ran into somebody and did a blind teleport. He shifted uncomfortably as he felt Erica's blood oozing onto him. As if God answered his prayer, he stumbled onto the steps of a deserted church. Shuffling toward the door, he opened it. He jumped as it creaked rather loudly. Peering tentatively inside, he saw that it had long ago been forsaken. He quietly entered the dark and foreboding church. The pews were far too dusty to sleep on, so he decided to check out the upstairs. Nearly every step groaned out loud as he walked up the stairs. Finally he reached the top. The attic, or whatever it was supposed to be called, was neatly tended. Statues of the Blessed Mother and a Crucifix were scattered throughout the room. Seeing a table, he carefully laid her down. She moaned in anguish, as the blood that had begun to scab over was broken, despite his ginger actions. In the darkness, Erick somehow found a candle and matches close by. He lit it and examined Erica's cut. He was horrified at the sight of it. A long cut around her rib cage had blood seeping out. He wished more than ever he paid attention to her lectures about how to treat an injured victim. He ripped one of her sleeves off her well-worn sweater and used it to staunch the blood flow. Erick lay next to his sister. Weary from the day's events, he soon dozed off.  
{What are you doing here?} A well-known voice asked impatiently. Erick sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. There was a sharp intake of a breath as the owner of the voice got a better view of him. *YAWN* He blinked his eyes once, then twice as his mind registered who was talking to him. {Kurt?} he yawned. Kurt looked at him strangely. {Who are you? How do you know my name?} He demanded. Erick was wide-awake now. {You don't remember?} He asked. The yellow eyes glared at him. {Remember what? Get out!} Kurt made an attempt to shoo this kid away. {Do unto others....as they would...do unto you...} Erica mumbled. Kurt and Erick stared at her in surprise. Maybe she was delirious. {Look. I have my sister here, and she's hurt. Badly. She really needs some help. You probably don't remember us from Stryker's prison...he kind of brainwashed you and made you attack the president. So we're not leaving} Erick replied sternly in one breath at Kurt. Kurt looked at him in amazement. {You know all this...because you were with me in a cell?} Erick nodded. {Tell me your names. Maybe I can remember.} Erick twitched nervously and glanced at his sleeping sister. "Ich heiBe Erick. Dies ist mein Zwillingsschwester, Erica." Kurt blinked then answered. {It sounds familiar, but I can't recall when I heard it.} Erick lowered his head in disappointment. {What's wrong with your schwester?} He asked. Erick moved aside so Kurt could have a better view. "Mien Gott..." he gasped. The cut looked even worse. Before, only blood leaked out. Now it had been exposed for quite a while, and now it was mixed with pus and blood. Kurt quickly disappeared in search of more bandages. Erica groaned again in pain. He gently stroked her shoulders, hoping that Kurt would find something to help his sister. His heart nearly gave out as he felt for a faint heart beat. His sister was dying, and there was nothing he could do to help. *BAMF* Kurt did manage to find some old clothes that were torn beyond all possible care. Tearing them into long strips, he carefully wrapped around the cut. She moaned again, and for a second, her eyes fluttered open. She stared at Kurt in surprise, then fell back to land of unconsciousness. A couple days had passed without any sign of recovery. Erica just went from bad to worse. Several times she had sat straight up, without warning, and coughed up blood. Erick had more then once fidgeted nervously as Kurt tended his sister. Her being this motionless scared him. She was never not moving. Even her tail stopped twitching every so often. Erica desperately needed a doctor, and fast. But where would they go? How would they treat her? Not many doctors were mutant friendly. A door slamming open caused all of them to jump. Kurt looked around hurriedly before telling Erick where to hide with his sister. {Take your sister up on the window ledge. It's high up so no one will notice. I'll tell you when to come out.} *BAMF* Erick sighed and climbed up the wall to explore the window ledge. It was quite large, enough for at least two people. He teleported down to where Erica was laying. How to do this..... Not being the expert in medical sciences, he tried lifting her with some telekinesis. Afraid that he might drop her, he waited until he could hold her for more than thirty seconds at about a foot. He slithered underneath her and cradled her in his arms. *PSHOO* Sitting on the window he waited for Kurt's signal. Loud crashes were heard downstairs. Then there was silence. Erick swallowed apprehensively at the sound of footsteps and voices on the stairs. What was going on? Two women followed Kurt into the room. They looked like humans, except the black one dazzlingly white hair. They looked more like agents to the Secret Service. What were they doing with Kurt? Erick leaned over to get a better look. He saw that they were bandaging him up with something. Kurt didn't seem nervous at all with these humans. You know, if you looked at one of them from a certain angle, they did look like Storm and Jean. Erica groaned softly. The redhead looked up. Erick backed away from his sightseeing point. His heart pounded as he tried to think on what to do next. The ground creaked as he stepped backwards.  
  
{You can come out now. They won't hurt you!} Kurt called out. Jean glanced at him in confusion as he stepped off of the table-bed. A split second later, Erick appeared, holding his sister. Jean and Storm stifled gasps of horror as they stared at the twins. Erica moaned again, disrupting personal thoughts. Jean held out her arms cautiously as she extended them to Erick. "I can help your sister. I am a doctor." She said softly. Erick looked at her, then at his cherished sister. "You vill make her better?" he asked. Jean nodded. "Promise?" she smiled and whispered in his ear. "Trust me." He looked at Erica. Her wound was opening again, and more blood leaked through the bandages. She coughed, rocking her entire body violently. Jean carefully lifted the child into her arms. She was amazed at how light she was. Tucking her close to her body, she stiffly walked down the stairs, in order not to shift her and cause her more pain. Storm picked up Erick and followed her. Kurt gave a sigh of relief and followed Storm.  
On the Blackbird, Jean found some medical supplies that were stored there. She pushed a green button, and a small bench popped out. Storm walked in carrying a bewildered and fascinated Erick. She placed him down and helped Jean. Making a small cushion for Erica's head, they lay her on the bench. Erica coughed even harder and more blood came up. Storm helped staunch the blood flow, clean the injury, and wrapped her in much more sanitary bandages. Jean cleaned out Erica's mouth and put on the oxygen mask. Beads of sweat appeared on her head as the infection took place. "Storm, I need an IV, and some antibiotics." Jean said very professionally as Storm scurried to do her bidding. Soon, the IV, along with some antibiotics were placed in Erica. It seemed to calm her down, but she started shivering intensely. Jean placed a thermal blanket on her. Slowly, but surely, she seemed to calm down and the breathing rate returned to a normal pace. Erick, after waiting for what seemed forever, rushed over to her. {Is she going to be all right?} he asked (almost) tearfully. "Don't worry, she's going to be OK. Once we're up in the air, we'll fix you up too." Storm said softly. He wearily stumbled to a seat next to Kurt. Plopping down on the chair, he instantly fell asleep.  
The movement of the plane descending jerked Erick awake. {Where are we?} He asked Kurt. Kurt shrugged. {I don't know.} Darn. Grown-ups are supposed to know everything. Loud noises were heard outside. It sounded like a fight just about to end. Erick jumped up nervously. Being in two prisons in almost one day made him extremely skittish at loud sounds. He took refuge in a chair that was farther away from the platform. Voices were heard inside, and he could hear Kurt explaining himself. Erick squeezed himself farther into the chair to make himself as small as possible. Two people brushed passed him and opened his eyes to see someone about to sit on him. Annoyed at this, his legs shot out, hitting the person painfully in the behind. Pyro glared at the two other snickering teenagers, then at Erick. He smirked at a fuming Pyro. "This seat's taken." He said innocently. Bobby had to bite his tongue from laughing at the scene. Pyro brushed himself off and stalked towards another empty seat. "Seat belts on, everyone!" Storm yelled over the turbulence as the Blackbird rocketed into the sky. Everybody hurriedly buckled themselves in. Kurt put some safety straps on Erica, buckled himself in, then made the sign of the cross and started praying fervently. Rogue snuck a look at their new seat companion. She was a bit surprised to see someone so small and looked so...well...different. His ears twitched and he looked up. She blushed at being caught staring at him. "Vhat's your name?" he asked. "Uh...mah name's Rogue, and this is Bobby over here." She stuttered. He stared at her with big yellow eyes. "Vhere are ve going?" She blinked at the request. What was this? Twenty questions? Sudden, violent jerks interrupted the conversation. "We got company!" somebody yelled. Two fighter planes shot overhead. They did not look too pleased to see them. "Repeat. Descend ten thousand feet." A radio crackled. "Do we have any weapons on this ship?" someone asked. Storm answered with tornadoes appearing out of nowhere. Many lights started beeping over the controls. Erick could sense that something bad was going to happen. He could feel it. Closing his eyes in concentration, he focused all of his energy into protecting the Blackbird. Blue light came out of his palms. Taking in deep breaths, the destructive energy began to protect. Many of the passengers glanced at the walls and floors as it was being bathed in blue light. Rogue turned to look at Bobby. He threw his hands up in the air. "It wasn't me!" He protested. {Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed be the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.} Erick prayed out loud that this would work. God gave him this wonderful gift, and he was going to use it right. The controls were partially covered by this strange light. More signals beeped as it warned of two incoming missiles. {Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now... Jean managed to force one off of it's path, but she couldn't stop the other one. It sped straight to the engine. Before it hit the engine, it blew up as it ran into an invisible wall. and at the hour of our death. Amen.} Erick opened his eyes and saw that everybody was staring at him. "Vas?!" He hated when people did that. "Did you do that?" Storm asked. He noticed that she seemed to look a little shaky. Erick nodded, too speechless with shock, to answer. He, a little kid that nobody thought was worth looking after, saved lives. A warm feeling crept to his heart as he realized this. Maybe he could be like Superman one day. Or a Jedi Knight.  
A very rough pull sent everybody who wasn't buckled in tumbling. "What's happening?" another mystery person asked as they plunged downwards rapidly. "Something's dragging us down!" Storm answered. A sudden landing vibrated the Blackbird. Jean looked out the window and saw Magneto and Mystique there, looking as if in all the world they were waiting there. The adults went down to meet them. The teenagers tried to leave, but were left with the job of baby-sitting the ship and the kids. Erick ignored them and went to check on Erica. Much to his surprise, the oxygen mask was taken off. So was the IV, antibiotics..... He tried to put the mask on, but it wouldn't stick. Several tries later, he still couldn't get it on. A punch in the face sent him on the floor with a clatter. He started massaging it ruefully. Man, that hurt. Much more to his astonishment, Erica sat up and grinned at him. {Don't ever do that again!} she informed angrily. Rogue and Bobby stared at her in astonishment. Erick just gawked at the sight of her alive. He teleported next to her and hugged her tightly. "OW! I didn't say I vasn't dead yet!" she cried out and pushed him off of her. {Your whatever you did thing healed me, but not all the way. So far, my cut needs to be healed.} Erick looked at her, shamefaced. "Sorry...." Erica rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. "Shut up." He glared at her. "Wait. Who are you? Are you with that Nightcrawler dude?" Bobby asked when he found his voice. "Ja." Erica answered. "Are you like, I dunno, related or something?" Erica shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me." She shivered and pulled the blanket closer to her frail body. "Is there anyfink to vear around here? I'm freezing!" Bobby strode over to a hidden closet. "Volia. Instant closet." He opened the door proudly and pulled out two of the smallest sweatshirts he could find. He tossed them to Rogue, and she gave on to Erick and helped Erica put hers on. Pulling the sweatshirt over his head, Eric discovered that they were at least six sizes too big. It dropped past his knees and covered part of his tail. Pyro snorted in amusement as he tripped and fell in it. Rogue tried to keep a straight face as Erica put it on. When it was on, the sleeves ran to her ankles. She put the hood over her face and made a face. The hood was so large that it enveloped her whole head. Erica brushed it back and looked mournfully at Rogue. She laughed and put a jacket on herself. The rest of the adults seemed to have come into an agreement of some sort. Logan walked in and saw Erick try to make the enormous sweatshirt fit. "Make camp. We're staying tonight." He said gruffly, then grabbed a uniform from the closet. The bored-to-tears- teenagers left the plane. {Remember your knives you gave me? I think I still have them.} Erica said to her brother. He teleported next to her in surprise. She dug around the sweatshirt and thrust her and into one of her pockets. She was rewarded with a small metal cylinder. Pushing the button, it sizzled to life. A green light glowed between the twins' excited faces. Erick snatched it from her hand. {Hey!} she protested. {I'll give it back, but we can shorten these shirts for us.} She pouted and pulled off the sweatshirt. {Mine first.} She ordered. He gave her a long look and cut hers down to size. He did the same for himself. They quickly turned it of just in time to see Mystique walk on board. Erick's eyes widened at the sight of her, and he covered his face in his hands, embarrassed at what he saw. She took no notice of his reactions. Instead, she strode deliberately towards the controls. *PSHOO* "Vhat are you doing, missus--?" He asked politely. Erica bit her tongue to keep from laughing out loud. Mystique stopped suddenly and stared at the twins. "You—You are supposed to be dead!" she uttered. She left them in a hurry. Erick looked at his sister in astonishment. {Don't even mention it!} She retorted, and then crawled onto the ceiling and down the platform. She glared at the sight before her. Erick materialized next to her. {Sit back and watch this!} he told her cheerfully. Erica strolled over to a large boulder and viewed the show. Rogue and Bobby were having no success whatsoever with trying to make a campfire. Clink, clink, clink. Pyro was enjoying their pathetic efforts at making a campfire. He offered no help. Let the goody-goodies do themselves. Suddenly, the lighter was wrenched from his unsuspecting grasp. "Hey! Give it back!" he yelled. Erick smirked. Time for a little fun. "Neener, neener, neener!" He called out. Pyro chased after him. Bobby was laughing histarically at the sight. Rogue walked over to where Kurt was observing the other adult's conversations. "You know, I feel like I've always known those kids all my life." He commented to her. "Ah thought Ah was the only one. It's like some sort of weird bond. Yah know what Ah mean?" She asked him. "Ja." She tried to listen to what the adults were saying, but they were too far. "Do vant me to get closer?" he asked tentatively. Rogue grinned. Kurt took this as a yes, and *BAMF*ed. ---------- "The question is where is this thing?" Jean asked. "Wolverine should know." Magneto answered. Everybody turned to look at him. "I don't know whatcher talking about." He flatly responded. A rustle was heard in the bushes. "Someone's very close....but they smell far away..." Erica emerged out of her shadow. "I know vhere dis place is." Kurt appeared next to her with a *BAMF*. "I did not mean to snoop." He apologized. Magneto glared at the eavesdroppers. "So, where is it?" he asked. Erica shuffled nervously before answering. "Alkali Lake." Wolverine stared at her in amazement. "I checked it. Bare. Nothin'" She shook her head. "Niene! Niene! Niene!" she said impatiently. "Under! It's under zhe place." Jean narrowed her eyes in concentration. {How would you know something like that?} Kurt asked her. Erica did another dance of impatience. These grown-ups were so dense! {Because I looked at the sign before I was knocked out, genius!} Jean motioned her to come over. "Let me see if this is true." She placed her hands around Erica's head. Erica backed away from her slowly. "Niene. You'll hurt me. I—I don't let anybody in here...." She tapped her head. "Kurt, come over here." He did as told. "Relax. Clear your mind." "She's right." The adults' meeting immediately broke up and they went in different directions.  
Flying in the Blackbird towards Alkali Lake, the X-men allied themselves with Magneto. The twins did not look too happy at this new prospect. They were in seating arrangements for lack of space, and got the best of luck sitting in front of him and Mystique. She whispered in his ear and he smiled. The twins were not in the best of moods either. Scowling, they crossed their legs and folded arms across their chests. "Why the long face? Perhaps it is those collars around your necks." Self-consciously, Erica put her hand around the hated object. "We got off to a bad start the last time we met." With a flick of his hand, the collars stretched and flew off of their necks. Their frowns turned to grim smiles when the collars came off. Relieved that it was off, Erica started coming back to her normal self. Watching Mystique as she observed Magneto's actions, Erica assumed a classic Mystique-like pose. Mystique saw her mimics and glared at the insolent child. "What are you looking at?" she asked. "What are you looking at?" Erica duplicated Mystique's voice entirely. It was a bit high, but only those who knew her would have known that. Erick bit his lip to keep from roaring out loud. Leave it to his sister to copy any girl's voice in the world. Mystique glowered at what happened.  
A blast rocked the ship, sending everyone flying. "What was that?" Jean asked breathlessly. Magneto looked at the collars, then at the children. "You have been betrayed." He said in that deadpan manner. Storm looked at him incredulously. "Who would do such a thing?" Magneto held up the collars for all those to see. A red light blinked steadily on each one. A little tweak was all that was needed, and the light died. The radio crackled to life. "Surrender the twins or suffer." Then the link died. Everybody turned to stare at the most unlucky duo the world has ever known. "Magneto, can you change their flight path?" Jean asked him softly. "They consist of plastic. There is nothing I can do." An undetected missile hit the plane, causing a gap to form. It happened so suddenly, nobody seemed to have time to react. "Eeeeek!" Erick and Erica yelled as they were sucked outside. "I'll get them!" Kurt cried over the noise. *BAMF* The ceiling instantly began to repair itself, courtesy of Magneto. Terrified, the twins hugged each other. Kurt appeared next to them. {Grab onto me! I'll get you out of here! I promise!} He reached out his hand to Erick. Erick tried to touch Kurt's hand, but he was too far. A missile blew up in front of the twins, and a net came out. {KURT!}Their cries are muffled as the net closed over them. It nearly got Kurt, but he teleported safely out of range. Frightened even more, they tried to teleport out. A thousand volts surged through them and prevented any sort of escape. The net was dragged into the plane. More missiles were launched to prevent further pursuit. In the end, Kurt couldn't dodge them anymore. Dejectedly, he *BAMF*ed on board to continue on the mission.  
"Ooof!" Erica gasped as she and Erick were dumped in a box. The moment they scrambled for the thin slip of light they saw, it sealed them in. Pounding on the box only gave them huge jolts searing through their body. Wearied, they collapsed in the darkness. Kurt sadly helped the X-men enter the underground base. He ran through the tunnels where Storm said the children were kept. Storm felt his uneasiness and tried to comfort him. "Don't worry, we'll get them out. We just need a little time. Right now, these kids need your help." A lump rose to his throat as he picked up one that couldn't run fast enough. He remembered Erica and how she snuggled against him when he lifted her up. Erick was always so worried about his sister, and never seemed to think about himself. Kurt's heart nearly tore in two as he felt the entire dam quake. And when every mutant on earth was in terrible pain, he prayed that they wouldn't suffer so much. Erica was so frail, it might kill her. He barely noticed the others as they met in a corridor. A mental screech made him more determined then ever to find them. *KURT! HELP US!* Kurt nearly fell and dropped the child he was carrying as he felt the suffering of the twins. That girl was right...there was some special bond between the two, and he wasn't going to let it break. Storm's voice cut through his thoughts when she asked him if he could help. He sighed and agreed to help. Hold on I'm coming! He yelled mentally to them.  
Stryker's voice was heard in the darkness. "It's been hard tracking you two down, but I managed to get you all the same. Did you really think that I could lose someone as valuable as you two? I guess you did. That's all mutants think about is how stupid humans are. They are too full of themselves. They should be controlled or eliminated. You have resisted every form of control we have. You will be destroyed, for mankind's sake. The dam is going to start collapsing in about twenty minutes, thanks to your mutant friends. Such good friends they are, since they will be too preoccupied with saving their own skins instead of helping you. Your torture should begin....now!" On cue, the twins start screaming again in pain as Prof. Xavier unknowingly was wiping out the mutants of the world. It felt like every cell in their body wanted to go in every different direction. Erick screamed as his mind was linked to others in agony. Erica collapsed as she disappeared in and out of her shadow. Then, without warning, it all stopped. Mutants breathed in relief from the suffering.  
Like the dam crumbling, so did Kurt's heart feel. He knew they were here, not knew, but felt them here. They were scared, afraid of what the future might hold for them. He longed to see them, feel their faces, tell them that they would be all right. Now all he could do was carry a man that could change the future for them....if they survived. He teleported with the man into the ship and buckled him in. Memories of the few short days he met them felt like a lifetime. A tear slipped down his tattooed, blue cheek. Every cell in him was screaming to go and find them. What could he do? The moment he went in there, it would collapse and crush him. Then what would they do without him if they managed to get free? Jean had gone blind helping her friends, but would he die trying to find his? He shuddered as the dam broke, releasing tons of thousands of God knows how much water poured onto his freinds. But they were more then that, they felt like a brother and a sister he never had. Sure, Amanda was like a sister, but this was much, much different. Seeing the lake filled once again naturally, still as death, made him feel lost. Then, like the evaporating mist, the bond he felt was gone. Heedless of the others, he fell to his knees and wept. Fumbling for his rosary, he prayed that the two small souls would find their way to the light.  
The two small souls had not found their way to the light, rather they were getting lost in the darkness. Water was pouring in everywhere, threatening to drown the ones that had cheated death more than once at a young age. Taking a deep breath, and praying every prayer she knew, Erica placed her hands on the box. Soon, they were nothing but shadows. Feeling around, and following various currents had led them nowhere. There was little time left for them if they could not find a way to the surface. Floating around, lost, the children prayed to God with all their might. As it would happen, Erica's energy was running out. She couldn't retain in shadow for much longer, and once she did emerge from shadow...well, it was up to Him now. {I'm sorry for everything....} She whispered, and became whole again. Water started seeping through the cracks. Suddenly, like a bullet shot from a gun, they breached the surface of the lake. Erick punched the top of the box. Nothing happened. Praying again this would work, he grabbed his exhausted sister and teleported out. *PSHOO* He breathed in the fresh, clear, cold air gratefully. Erica sneezed from breathing in too hard. Keeping their bodies close for warmth, they floated among the stars. "HELP! If there's anybody alive out there, please help me!" somebody cried out. "Call out to us! We'll help you!" Erick yelled. "Over here!" Erick grabbed a long piece of driftwood and started padding frantically towards the pleas for help. Slowly but surely, a small gray figure could be seen bouncing up and down. The tree was sticking out like an island in the lake. No wonder somebody was desperate to leave. Erica seemed to awaken a bit too. He finally reached the creature before staring at it in surprise. "Darkclaw? What are you doing here?" The critter blinked its black eyes in astonishment before answering. "Well, lookey here. If it ain't me old pals, Bluebane and Shadder herself. What's next?" Erica grinned at seeing a familiar face. "Jump on zhe Elf Express. It's not first class, but it'll do. With amazing speed and agility for such a tubby-looking fellow, Darkclaw jumped on the box. She hugged him tenderly while Erick launched off the boat. "Can you take us to land? Darkclaw?" he asked. The furry creature bobbed his head up and down before snuggling with Erica. Erica stood up and looked skyward. "Sun set zhat vay. Zhat is west. Vhere's zhe land?" Darkclaw pointed a chubby paw south. "It's south of here, me Shadder. If ya keep up rowing like this, we'll put foot on land tomorrow." Renewed energy made them paddle faster than before. By dawn of the next morning, they saw patches of rock sticking up. By noon, they landed. Practically kissing the ground in relief, they made camp in some comfortable tree branches.  
The next day they started on a trail that Darkclaw had sighted earlier. Excitement had loosened their tongues, and they were talking rapidly in German. {This place is so cold!} {We need to find some supplies and shelter.} {I miss home. Do you think we'll ever find it again?} {I think it'll find us when we're ready.} {I'm more than ready to leave.} {Tell me about it.} "Shaddup!" Darkclaw yelled, exasperated. 'Unless ya wanna get home, shut up. You're messing up my concentration!" Taking his word seriously, they followed him by climbing through the trees, so not to disturb his thinking. Making slightly less sound then a spider, they climbed and enjoyed nature. After awhile, nature became as silent as the twins themselves.  
The unnatural silencet became unnerving. He listened for the sounds of tree bark crackling, snow crunching, or other sounds most people made when walking on this winter day. There were none. Tempted to look behind his shoulder to check on them, Darkclaw whirled around. "Hey! Where'd ya go?" A tap on his shoulder brought him to full attention. He fell down in surprise as he saw the twins grinning in front of him. "Ya nearly scared me outta six seasons there!" They grinned even wider and bit their tongues to keep that silence rule. "::sigh:: You can talk, but not a million miles an hour, got it?" "Ja." "Hey, lookit at zhe cabin over zhere. Is zhere a camp over here?" Erica asked. Darkclaw and Erick stared at it in complete astonishment. He sniffed the air. "I don't smell any humans. Hold on a sec." He zoomed over to inspect it. He zipped back over to the twins, looking cheerful. "There's nobody there! It's been ditched for ages!" he said happily. The twins sprinted over there to get a better look. Peering through the dusty windows, they teleported in. What amazed them the most was that was a door where the fireplace was supposed to be, round and covered with precious stones. {We found it!} Erick hugged his sister gleefully. {Hold on!} He looked at her strangely as she dashed over to the ancient desk. Opening several drawers, she finally found an old-fashioned ink jar, complete with feather pen, and some paper. {Hope this thing is waterproof} she mumbled, writing furiously on the paper. "Whatcha doin'?" Erica jumped and nearly upset the inkwell in the process. "You owe us for saving you life. Ve have found zhe vay home, but to fufill zhe debt, you are going to deliver zhis message to...somevhere in New York. Zhere is a school zhere called...Xavier's School for gifted youngsters, or somefink like zhat. Ask for somevone named Kurt Vagner, or Nightcrawler. Got it?" Erica folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and put her own seal on it. "Go, ve are safe." Darkclaw took one last long look at the twins, took the letter in his mouth, and phased through the door. Before he left, however, he saw them open the door, and in a flash of light, they were gone. ---------Epilogue-----------  
"Uh-oh" Erica replied. "Vhat is it zhis time?" Erick asked. "What were you doing in my lab?" A very angry-looking Forage asked. Erica pointed at Erick. It's his fault. *SHH* He glared at the spot where Erica had once been. *PSHOO*  
  
Far, far away, in another world, Kurt read the letter over and over again. Tears of happiness streamed down his cheeks as he read it again. {Kurt, Thanks for taking care of us. It was very nice of you. We hope to see you again soon. -Erick & Erica  
  
PS...WE LIVE! 


End file.
